I could have chosen any of 100 photos from the day I spent wandering around the Pushkar Fair, but I didn’t want to overload you so I tried to pick 15 photos that were unique enough to give you an idea of the place, including some of the photos I haven’t posted on Facebook. If you don’t follow me on Facebook you can’t seen the 200 photos I’ve posted there, but really it doesn’t matter because you’ll end up seeing at least half of ’em here anyway. So fuck it. Forget I said anything. Enjoy the pictures.
In India they call these guys “Snake Charmers”. Sorry, I’m being sarcastic. You know that. Everybody
knows that. The snake charmers only open up their baskets and arouse their cobras when
the tourists start to walk by. Then they put on a little show for you, as if to welcome you to their home,
and then when you try to walk away they harass you for money. I wanted to say, “Hey, guy. I didn’t tell you
to put the show on for me, you did it on your own!” but instead I just tipped the guy and thanked him.
Because the snakes are usually trained really well not to strike (read up on snake charming, it’s
more than just grabbing a cobra from the wild and trying to hypnotize it), you can get pretty close
to them without fearing for your life. I figured if I stayed at about equal distance to the snake as the
charmer was, I wouldn’t have to worry about being bitten. So that’s how I got this photo.
While walking towards Pushkar Lake we were caught up in a huge procession of people and camels,
which was one of the most colorful, beautiful moments of the entire trip. Some kind soul even
uploaded a video to YouTube of this year’s procession, so you can see for yourself what it looked
and sounded like. I haven’t watched the whole thing. Who knows, maybe you’ll see me in the video.
Call me a stupid hippie but I liked the message, and the juxtaposition of the colorful placard to
the traditional children’s uniforms worn by the kids “demonstrating” during the procession.
The vibrant colors of all the clothing and jewels worn by those marching the streets during
the procession made for an awesome sight. If I wasn’t so afraid of psychedelic drugs I’d say
the Pushkar Fair would be an incredible place for such a journey.
That was the camel that won the award for “Most Blinged-Out Camel.” That’s not the literal
name of the award, but that’s the gist of it. This camel (I think they’re all females for some reason)
showed up at our little tent city the next morning, perhaps still high on the adrenaline of
the previous day’s victory. Whatever award it won, figure it was like the Super Bowl of Camel competitions.
Since the men mostly wear white, most of the groovy colors you see in India come from women’s
clothing. I also learned that since the sacred Lotus flower doesn’t grow very well in the desert (or in
much of India, actually) Marigolds are a cheap alternative. There is spiritual significance beyond that,
but it’s certainly not as sacred as the Lotus, and it’s much more abundant. As such, we were given
garlands of marigolds at most hotels, and when a Hindu priest walked me down to
Pushkar Lake he gave me a marigold to throw into the water as I prayed for good luck.
The Brahma Temple in Pushkar. It is quite literally one of a kind, as there are only a few temples
dedicated to the Creator-God Brahma in the entire world, and (as far as I heard) this is the only
one in all of India dedicated to the deity. If you read my daily travel log during the trip, this is the temple
where I discarded my shoes and walked barefoot with thousands of people clamoring to reach the sacred
idol at the top of the stairs. It took A LOT of concentration to disregard how dirty my surroundings were.
Pushkar Lake. The whole idea of the “fair” is basically to supplement the annual pilgrimage to
the lake, which is an extremely holy site. You’re not allowed to take pictures of it once you’ve
approached it, so this was taken at the very last possible moment before I was instructed to put
away my camera. There are over 500 temples on the shores of the lake and 52 bathing spots.
In the Hindu tradition, to bathe in the lake sets one on the path to salvation.
The only street food I was allowed to eat during my entire stay in India was these roasted peanuts.
I shouldn’t say that I was ALLOWED to eat. There was no force preventing me from eating any other
street food except for the fact that every native I spoke to told me I was guaranteed to be sickened by
anything that I ate from the streets. It’s just not sanitary. It’s like a poison you have to build up an
immunity to. Which is a shame because it all looked and smelled so delicious.
Like this guy, for example. How great does that fried stuff look? What’s in the vat? It looks yummy!
It smelled even better than it looked. And to see the joy on the faces of all the kids running around
gobbling everything up like it was funnel cake or deep fried raviolis from your local state fair
only frustrated me more. The worst was when natives would see me eyeing the food and they’d say,
“You can’t eat it, but I’d wager anything it’s the best street food in the entire world.” So depressing.
More colors, more families, more sights from the Pushkar Fair.
The best part of the fair for me was getting to wander by myself, find little alleyways and
side streets that emptied into different little bazaars or shopping areas. It was as if I was
in a maze, and at every turn something new and exciting was awaiting me. I mean, there wasn’t
really anything for me to buy because I wasn’t interested in spices, textiles or jewelry, but the
fact that it was a thriving community that had sprung up overnight was fascinating.
I’ve never seen a more depressed kid on a carnival ride in my entire life.
At least he’s not puking, I guess.
When the fair began to die down, as the sun was setting, I walked to the central stadium and hung
out and watched the people playing sports, taking in different forms of entertainment, and eventually
rushing the stands to catch glimpses of the large hot air balloons descending towards the fair. You could
see outside the fairgrounds to the camps where families set up their tents for the festival, where they
kept the livestock that they were hoping to sell or trade, or maybe the livestock they’d come to purchase.
With thousands of people struggling to catch a glimpse of the hot air ballons, in the other direction all was calm.
Kaa Antilope – Back In India [MP3]
